NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY

NEWS SHORTS FOR FRIDAY Disclaimer: The linked items below or the websites at which they are located do not necessarily represent the views of The Illinois Federation for Right to Life. They are presented only for your information. Gynecologists in Spain plan to choose jail before performing an abortion Dr. Esteban Rodriguez, spokesman for the organization Right to Life (Derecho a Vivir) in Spain, responded yesterday to comments by the country's Minister of Justice, Francisco Caamano, who said there was no room for a conscience clause in the new law on abortion.  "We are willing to go to jail rather than following a criminal law, Rodriguez said, "and we are willing to commit the supposed crime of disobedience before the crime of abortion."   "We will not kill our patients, nor will we commit a crime against the public health deliberately harming the heath of women, no matter how much the Minister of Justice threatens us and abuses his power," the doctor said.   "We doctors are not soldiers, nor policemen, nor executioners. There is no civil disobedience in the refusal to kill a human being, but rather the fulfilling of our professional obligation," he added. Click here for the full article. Planned Parenthood Worries SD Clinic May Shut Down Planned Parenthood is raising red flags that the state could close the only abortion clinic in South Dakota in a matter of days, according to the latest filing in a court battle over a 2005 law that requires doctors to tell women an abortion ends a human life.   The clinic in Sioux Falls could lose its license if it doesn't conform with the law. State attorneys say there's no immediate plans to close the facility and even if South Dakota decides to shut it down, that administrative process likely would take weeks. Click here for the full article. Operation Rescue Lodges Complaint About Conditions At Carhart's Clinic The antiabortion-rights group Operation Rescue recently lodged complaints with Nebraska officials about what it claims are unsafe conditions at abortion provider LeRoy Carhart's clinic in Bellevue, Neb., the AP/Sioux City Journal reports. The group is planning protests at Carhart's clinic from Aug. 28-29. A letter from the state attorney general's office says that the group's concerns were forwarded to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. Nebraska HHS spokesperson Marla Augustine said that under state law, complaints against physicians and medical facilities are kept confidential, meaning such investigations are confirmed only when action is taken. Click here for the full article. Obama Calls Health Care a 'Moral Obligation,' But Pro-lifers Say Tax Money for Abortions Is 'Moral' Issue President Barack Obama, in an online conference call with BlogTalkRadio on Wednesday, urged liberal religious groups to "spread the facts and speak the truth" about health care reform. Obama said it's "not true" that health care reform will allow government funding of abortion. But pro-life leaders responded to the conference call by noting that health care reform plans in both chambers of Congress would allow federal funds to pay for abortions. Click here for the full article. Catholic Bishops Tell House: Health-Care Bill is 'Unacceptable' Due to Pro-Abortion Mandates The nation's Catholic bishops have told Congress that they oppose H.R. 3200, America's Affordable Health Choices Act, as it currently stands, because the health-care reform bill would mandate funding and insurance coverage for abortion.   In an August 11 letter to members of the House of Representatives, Cardinal Justin Rigali, chairman of the pro-life committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (U.S.C.C), told lawmakers that health-care reform must "respect human life and rights of conscience in the context of abortion." Click here for the full article.